Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Promising for Bipolar

FRIDAY, Jan. 5, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) appears to be effective and safe as an add-on intervention for adults with bipolar depression, according to a study published online Dec. 27 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Bernardo Sampaio-Junior, M.D., from the University of São Paulo in Brazil, and colleagues determined the efficacy and safety of tDCS as an add-on treatment for bipolar depression in a randomized trial conducted in an outpatient setting. Fifty-nine adults with type I or type II bipolar disorder in a major depressive episode and receiving a stable pharmacologic regimen were included in the study; participants had 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores above 17. Participants underwent 10 daily 30-minute active or sham tDCS sessions and then one session every two weeks until week 6.

"In this trial, tDCS was an effective, safe, and tolerable add-on intervention for this small bipolar depression sample," the authors write. "Further trials should examine tDCS efficacy in a larger sample."

Two authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.